Methods, systems and devices for carpal tunnel release

Abstract

Described herein are methods, systems and devices for cutting a ligament of a patient. In some embodiments, the method may include the steps of advancing a cannulated probe into a patient, advancing the distal end of the tissue modification device assembly posteriorly through the skin of the patient such that it exits the patient, exposing at least one tissue modification element of the tissue modification device assembly, and reciprocating at least a portion of the tissue modification device assembly by alternately pulling on proximal and distal portions of the tissue modification device assembly to draw the at least one tissue modification element across the ligament to cut the ligament, in some embodiments, the system may include a probe, a tissue modification device, and a sheath. The tissue modification device may include a proximal handle, at least one tissue modification element configured cut ligament, and a sharp distal tip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 251,199, titled “DEVICES AND METHODS FOR TISSUE MODIFICATION”, filed Oct. 15, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60 / 619,306, filed Oct. 15, 2004; 60 / 622,865, filed Oct. 28, 2004; 60 / 681,719, filed May 16, 2005; 60 / 681,864, filed May 16, 2005; and 60 / 685,190, filed May 27, 2005, each of these applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.[0002]This patent application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 429,377, titled “FLEXIBLE TISSUE RASP”, filed May 4, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of PCT Patent Application No. PCT / US2005 / 037136, filed Oct. 15, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60 / 619,306, filed Oct. 15, 2004; 60 / 622,865, filed Oct. 28, 2004; 60 / 681,719, filed May 16, 2005; 60 / 681,864, filed May 16, 2005; and 60 / 685,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a tool that can be used to shift the surface of a rigid portion of a device by applying torque from outside the body. This allows the flexible portion of the device to be rotated around its axis to adjust its orientation towards a target tissue surface. The design of the target tissue surface allows the flexible portion to roll towards the edges, and the torquing of the shaft portion helps prevent this. The technical effect is a tool that can precisely adjust its orientation towards target tissue, even when the surface is not perfectly flat.

Problems solved by technology

Minimally invasive (or “less invasive”) surgical procedures often involve modifying tissue through one or more small incisions or percutaneous access, and thus may be more technically challenging procedures.

Some of the challenges of minimally invasive tissue modification procedures include working in a smaller operating field, working with smaller devices, and trying to operate with reduced or even no direct visualization of the tissue (or tissues) being modified.

For example, using arthroscopic surgical techniques for repairing joints such as the knee or the shoulder, it may be quite challenging to modify certain tissues to achieve a desired result, due to the required small size of arthroscopic instruments, the confined surgical space of the joint, lack of direct visualization of the surgical space, and the like.

It may be particularly challenging in some surgical procedures, for example, to cut or contour bone or ligamentous tissue with currently available minimally invasive tools and techniques.

For example, trying to shave a thin slice of bone off a curved bony surface, using a small-diameter tool in a confined space with little or no ability to see the surface being cut, as may be required in some procedures, may be incredibly challenging or even impossible using currently available devices.

The most common form of spinal stenosis occurs in the lower (or lumbar) spine and can cause severe pain, numbness and / or loss of function in the lower back and / or one or both lower limb.

Impingement of neural and / or neurovascular tissue in the spine by one or more of these tissues may cause pain, numbness and / or loss of strength or mobility in one or both of a patient's lower limbs and / or of the patient's back.

When these conservative treatment options fail and symptoms are severe, as is frequently the case, surgery may be required to remove impinging tissue and decompress the impinged nerve tissue.

Removal of vertebral bone, as occurs in laminectomy and facetectomy, often leaves the effected area of the spine very unstable, leading to a need for an additional highly invasive fusion procedure that puts extra demands on the patient's vertebrae and limits the patient's ability to move.

Unfortunately, a surgical spine fusion results in a loss of ability to move the fused section of the back, diminishing the patient's range of motion and causing stress on the discs and facet joints of adjacent vertebral segments.

Such stress on adjacent vertebrae often leads to further dysfunction of the spine, back pain, lower leg weakness or pain, and / or other symptoms.

Furthermore, using current surgical techniques, gaining sufficient access to the spine to perform a laminectomy, facetectomy and spinal fusion requires dissecting through a wide incision on the back and typically causes extensive muscle damage, leading to significant post-operative pain and lengthy rehabilitation.

Thus, while laminectomy, facetectomy, and spinal fusion frequently improve symptoms of neural and neurovascular impingement in the short term, these procedures are highly invasive, diminish spinal function, drastically disrupt normal anatomy, and increase long-term morbidity above levels seen in untreated patients.

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